Heal Thyself

Sometimes there just are no explanations.

Last fall, my old beloved Canon Power Shot

camera stopped working.  Just . . . wouldn't.

He lay down and curled up his toes.

I wrote about it, here.

For awhile I bumbled along using Howard's big heavy Nikon DSLR.

Ours was an uneasy relationship, me and the giant Nikon.

There was some colorful cussing.  From both of us.

It took some nice pictures, mostly closeups, and

mostly by accident on my part.

But it ain't user friendly, at least not for this user.

And subtle?

Try taking discreet pictures in a restaurant. Can't be done.

At Christmastime, Howard got me the camera I asked for.

A Nikon Coolpix S9100.

I asked for it based on glowing online reviews.

That might have all been written by Mr. Nikon's mother.

It, and I, have never come to terms.

It's been an unhappy marriage for both of us.

I can't use it properly,

and it is most likely using only a tiny fraction of its superpowers.

All too many of my Nikon Coolpix shots turn out like this:

 Weird colors, blue look.  Some are way worse.

You can't use the "Auto" feature on this camera.  At least, I can't.

I get pictures that look like the Mars Rover has taken them.

If you fiddle with the camera, you can get this,

which is not great but is passable:

Christmas 2011, the Coolpix shot.

But I am not interested in a camera that needs fiddling.

I truly want to point. and. shoot. period.

Today, because I was stalking newer

Power Shots online, I decided to dig out my old Canon,

to see what model it is.  Kind of get an idea of how many

generations of Power Shots have passed since I got it.  (Lots.)

Christmas 2010, picture by the humble old Canon.

It's been in a kitchen cupboard since last November.

Lurking, loafing, lingering . . . or, rather, malingering.

'Cause guess what?  It's working again.

Even the batteries were still good.

After a minute's quick mental review of what does what on

the camera, I was snapping pictures again.  And they are fine.

Witness:

No retouching.

The Coolpix shots always needed color or other help

before I could post them.

The Canon colors are true, which is something both of

our Nikon cameras, or their operators, have issues with.

A Canon shot in Macro mode -- below.  A moment of truth.

Sometimes it's a little too accurate; nice dust and fuzzy stuff. 

But look at this lovely true orange color in the picture below.

It's my newest toy -- a handheld electric sander.

You don't want to know all the details of my getting

accustomed to using this tool.

What sand storm?

Bottom line -- today I was reminded of how easy and good

this older Canon camera is.  It's back to work for the Power Shot,

for as long as it lasts.  

I have no idea why it cured itself.

Perhaps it just needed a good nap.  Don't we all, sometimes?  -- Cass